A teenage killer has been convicted of murder after fatally stabbing 16-year-old Oscar Hamilton in the heart outside a busy shopping centre.
The deadly attack happened on the morning of September 24, 2024, at Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton, west of Melbourne.
Daily Mail cannot identify the offender, the son of Afghan migrants, for legal reasons because he was 15 at the time he repeatedly stabbed Oscar in the chest as witnesses looked on and CCTV cameras recorded the violence.
At the start of his murder trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria, the teenager attempted to have the case resolved as manslaughter, entering a guilty plea to the lesser charge.
However, Victoria’s Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions, Brendan Kissane KC, rejected that plea and proceeded with the murder trial before a jury.
The killer was brought to justice by Detective Stephen Eppingstall – the now-famous cop who put mushroom killer Erin Patterson behind bars.
It took the jury under an hour to come to its verdict after it was repeatedly made to watch Oscar die in graphic agony during extensive replays of CCTV of his murder.
CCTV captured the killing from various angles within the shopping centre, with the footage clearly showing the deadly attack unfold.
A cold-blooded teenage killer has been found guilty of murder after plunging a knife into the heart of 16-year-old Oscar Hamilton outside a busy shopping centre
The jury heard Oscar had been dropped off by his mother Tracy to hang out with his girlfriend and two friends in the outdoor seating area.
But what should have been an ordinary teenage meet-up ended in horror.
The killer approached the group and after a brief confrontation, grabbed Oscar by the collar, pulled out a knife and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest.
The third and fatal blow pierced Oscar’s heart.
Footage showed the killer briefly struggle to remove the knife from Oscar’s chest before he ran away.
The knife has never been recovered.
The gruesome footage showed Oscar sit down on his chair as if nothing had happened.
He told his friends to call an ambulance before collapsing.
The Melton shopping centre where Oscar was murdered in broad daylight
News of the shocking incident had been shared on social media at the time
Despite frantic efforts by bystanders and paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Members of Oscar’s family were in tears as footage of the attack was played to the court.
Unlike many murder trials, the jury heard a clear motive for the brutal attack had been established.
Prosecutor Erin Ramsay told the jury the attack had been driven by rage.
The court heard that leading up to the murder a 14-year old girl had told the killer she ‘just wanted to be friends’.
‘And that sometime prior to this day, she had told the accused via text message that Oscar Hamilton had sexually assaulted her,’ Ms Ramsey said in her opening address.
‘This appears to be the motive for the stabbing. Now, you’re not here to decide whether there’s any truth to what (she) alleges Oscar had done.
‘This evidence is relevant to your consideration because it’s led by the prosecution to demonstrate the motive for the attack upon Oscar.’
Detective Leading Senior Constable Stephen Eppingstall brought the child killer to justice
Oscar had been sitting about minding his own business with friends when a jealous love rival stabbed him to death
The court heard the killer himself had backed that motive via recorded prison phone calls to his parents while he was in youth detention.
Speaking in his native tongue, the jury heard the killer became increasingly angered when his love interest failed to engage with his family after the brutal murder.
‘Don’t call her. No, nothing; I don’t care anymore. Like, I came in here for nothing; she is a bitch,’ he told loved ones on the jailhouse phone.
‘Tell her, “Look, he went in there for you. Then at least prove you are actually worth it and s***.”
‘I only did it for her, and even if that guy didn’t touch her, I still would have done it; I knew the kid.’
Just moments before Oscar died, the court heard the killer had called her on Snapchat, asking if her claim was true.
Oscar had desperately insisted he had done nothing wrong but was stabbed when he rose to his feet as the killer approached.
Oscar’s girlfriend, aged 16 at the time, gave evidence that Oscar had briefly spoken with his killer for about 20 seconds before the attack in what appeared to be a normal conversation with no yelling.
Police at the scene where Oscar was murdered
Mourners laid flowers outside the shopping centre
Oscar then returned to the table without saying what had been discussed.
Shortly afterwards, the killer approached the table, stood near them and said something like, ‘Oh, I was talking to you’.
He then moved closer and grabbed Oscar by the front of his jumper.
Oscar responded: ‘Oi, get the f*** off me.’
She said the killer pulled out a knife and stabbed Oscar three times.
After the attack the killer fled and later rang his supposed girlfriend in a panic, repeatedly apologising and saying he thought he had killed Oscar.
‘I’m sorry. I think I killed; I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry, I stabbed him; I didn’t mean to do it. Oscar, I stabbed him,’ he told the girl.
He dumped the knife and was arrested hours later at a friend’s house.
Oscar’s mate embarked on a campaign to stop knife violence following his murder
Oscar’s life was taken with little to no regard and his killer forced everyone who loved him to watch him die over and over again at trial
Oscar’s senseless death sparked an outpouring of emotion at the time.
His mates hit the streets in custom-made hoodies bearing the teen’s face as they staged a solemn walk in solidarity against knife violence ahead of any weekend incidents.
‘Long Live Oscar’ and ‘Justice For Oscar’ was emblazoned across the front of the black hoodies.
On the back was a poignant message to Melbourne’s troubled youth, who continue to use knives to settle scores.
‘Stop The Violence’ the message read, with a smiling photo of Oscar above it.
Oscar’s killer will be sentenced at a date to be fixed.